the dynamics of employee relationships in an ethnically diverse workforce

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Human Relations

DOI: 10.1177/00187267060641812006; 59; 379Human Relations

Emmanuel Ogbonna and Lloyd C. Harrisworkforce

The dynamics of employee relationships in an ethnically diverse

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The dynamics of employee relationshipsin an ethnically diverse workforce

Emmanuel Ogbonna1 and Lloyd C. Harris

A B S TRA C T This article explores and analyses the dynamics of workplace

relationships in an organization characterized by a highly ethnically

diverse workforce. The specific objectives are: 1) to understand the

factors that are contributing to high levels of ethnic diversity; 2) to

uncover the ways in which such diversity is manifested in an organiz-

ational setting; and 3) to explore the ramifications that this diversity

and its manifestations may have for individuals and groups of

employees on the one hand and for relations between management

and groups of employees on the other. The article concludes by

discussing the implications that such ethnic diversity may have for

extant research and conceptualization of ethnic minorities in the

workplace.

KE YW ORD S discrimination ethnic minorities equal opportunities

language problems managing diversity

The issue of managing a diverse workforce is increasingly gaining recognition

as an important topic of research and theorizing (see Konrad, 2003).

However, it can be argued that much of the debate in this area has been

focused on quite narrow issues, with themes revolving on problems of repre-

sentation and discrimination (for example, Darity & Mason, 1998; Hoque& Noon, 1999; Modood et al., 1998) or discourses of the appropriateness

of particular conceptual or managerial approaches (for instance, Healy et al.,

2004; Liff, 1999; Liff & Dickens, 1999).

3 7 9

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DOI: 10.1177/0018726706064181

Volume 59(3): 379–407

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While existing studies have laudably increased the interest of prac-

titioners and policy-makers in the topics of equality and diversity, a common

concern is that there has been a tendency to simplify the problems in a desire

to provide and espouse straightforward analytically driven prescriptions.

These issues have resulted in a fragmentation of studies; with specific themes

of diversity (for example, gender) gaining huge research exposure and

interest while others are relatively ignored. Of particular significance is the

dearth of research into race in mainstream work and organizational studies

(see Nkomo, 1992; Williams & O’Reilly, 1998). In addition, it can be argued

that many scholars of equality and diversity are using antiquated and out-

dated conceptions of ‘work’ and ‘discrimination’. For example, much

discussion of labour market discrimination is based on conceptualizationsthat date back to the 1960s and 1970s, a time when intolerance was more

visibly displayed (see discussions of the construction of ethnicity and disad-

vantage in Fenton, 2003; Mason, 2000). Similarly, the absence of recent

empirical evaluations suggests that many studies of discrimination fail to

account for developments in contemporary organizations which have been

transformed by demographic, geographic and socio-cultural evolutions (see

Penn, 2000). In this regard, empirical evaluations are needed that explore

contemporary workplaces and the ways in which societal and organizational

transformations are shaping employee experiences and perceptions inrelation to issues of diversity and equality.

The research presented in this article is an ethnographic study of a

medium-sized organization in a British inner city.2 The aim is to explore and

analyse the dynamics of workplace relationships in an organization charac-

terized by high levels of ethnic diversity. In this regard, our motivation is to

understand: 1) the factors that are contributing to high levels of workforce

diversity; 2) the ways in which such diversity is manifested in an organiz-

ational setting; and 3) the ramifications that this diversity and its manifesta-tions may have for individuals and groups of employees on the one hand and

for relations between management and groups of employees on the other. As

such, our study aims to contribute to the literature on ethnic minorities and

discrimination through the documentation and analyses of the dynamics of

relationships in a diverse workforce. Further, our study contributes practical

insights into human resource issues in contemporary work organizations,

particularly in the context of a changing demographic environment.

Prior to the presentation and evaluation of the findings, it is useful to

provide an overview of the existing research in order to locate our owntheoretical position. Although the review draws from studies of diversity

and equality in general, our interest is in the convergence of research on the

specific concerns of ethnic minorities. In this regard, we integrate a brief

Human Relations 59(3)3 8 0




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overview of the pertinent literature on social groups into our literature

review.

Workforce diversity and equality: A review of research

Studies of workplace diversity and equality have evolved in different direc-

tions over the last two decades. However, it is possible to categorize research

into three broad streams; studies of the relevance and appropriateness of

particular approaches (whether managing diversity or ensuring equality of

opportunities), research into the impact of diversity on organizational

outcomes, and studies exploring the issues of discrimination in relation toparticular aspects of employment. What follows is a brief review of these

three strands of research.

An important debate in the field of managing human resources has

centred on the appropriateness of the approach adopted by both managers

and academics in conceptualizing issues of people management. In the 1980s,

scholars offered opposing models and perspectives on achieving equality of

opportunity ranging from ‘liberal’ and ‘radical’ approaches (Jewson &

Mason, 1986) to ‘short’ and ‘long’ agendas (Cockburn, 1989). However, by

the 1990s, the discourse had evolved to a consideration of the appropriate-ness of an equal opportunities perspective. In the UK, this debate was stimu-

lated by the contributions of Kandola and Fullerton (1994a, 1994b) which

questioned the efficacy of the equal opportunities framework. They argue

that equal opportunities is characterized by a group-based approach and that

this has proved inappropriate in conceptualizing and managing the multiple

particularities of individual concerns as well as in dealing with the problems

of contemporary organizations. This debate had particular appeal to prac-

titioners since it coincided with a general reorientation of employee relationstrategies wherein organizations eschewed collectivist relations in favour of

individualized relationships (see Kessler & Purcell, 1995).

Recently, the central theme of discourses on diversity and equality has

focused on the means of achieving an organizational environment wherein

all members contribute to their full potential to the success of the business

(see Cassell & Biswas, 2000). As with all scholarly endeavours, different

paradigmatic positions have influenced the perceptions of researchers as to

the nature of the problem under discussion. In the context of this research

area, this is translated into a question of whether the problem of equality isviewed as a social issue with a moral imperative or whether this is seen purely

as a commercial problem requiring a business rationale (see Noon &

Ogbonna, 2001). In this regard, those that view the problem as a moral

Ogbonna & Harris Employee relationships in an ethnically diverse workforce 3 8 1




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imperative frequently advocate an equality of opportunity approach with

interest in compulsion (e.g. Kaler, 2001). Such scholars commonly argue that

voluntarism has proved ineffective in overcoming discrimination and that

only serious government intervention can bring about changes in the conduct

of organizations and managers. However, whereas the equality of oppor-

tunity perspective is assumed to make fundamental assumptions about

inequality and disadvantage (see Liff, 1999), the managing diversity

approach (already dominant in research and practice in the US – see Kochan

et al., 2003; Konrad, 2003) is said to view such focus as unhelpful (see

Kandola & Fullerton, 1994a; Ross & Schneider, 1992), concentrating instead

on viewing employees as individuals with idiosyncratic qualities which should

be harnessed for competitive success (Johnston & Packer, 1997).Studies adopting a diversity approach explore the academic under-

pinnings of this perspective as well as the practical driving forces behind it.

For example, Konrad (2003) asserts that the academic legitimacy of the

subject of workforce diversity is inevitably linked to power dynamics

between minority and majority groups. Specifically, she attributes the schol-

arly interest in the subject to an increase in the representation and power of

historically excluded groups in contemporary work organizations. Interest in

this area has become enshrined in the so called ‘business case’ or the idea

that having a diverse workforce can be a necessary aspect of business compet-itiveness. Proponents of this view commonly argue that a diverse workforce

accords an organization greater opportunity to understand and serve differ-

ent markets, as well as provide a richer pool of workers from which the

organization can recruit (Cox & Blake, 1991; Richard, 2000). Indeed, some

scholars have extended this line of reasoning to argue that heterogeneous (or

diverse) groups are more effective than homogenous ones on a range of

organizational outcomes (e.g. Robinson & Dechant, 1997).

Interestingly, although there is significant interest from academics andpolicy-makers in the business argument for managing diversity, the research

evidence on the efficacy of this is patchy. A recent major investigation by

Kochan et al. (2003) found no evidence of positive association between gender

and ethnic diversity and performance. Indeed, some researchers have noted

that rather than foster innovation and creativity, diversity may result in

organizational inefficiency. Such insights can be explained by briefly examin-

ing theories of group behaviour. Specifically, social identity theory suggests

that individuals classify themselves and others on demographic characteristics

such as gender and ethnicity (Brunetto & Farr-Wharton, 2002). In this regard,the membership of a group (for example, an ethnic group) offers an individ-

ual a source of social identity, while the group becomes a collective represen-

tation of this identity (see Chattopadhyay et al., 2004; Tajfel & Turner, 1986;





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Tsui et al., 1992). Researchers working within this perspective have theorized

a range of performance implications for work groups that are composed of

dissimilar individuals on key demographic characteristics (for example, race

and gender), including conflict behaviours (Hobman et al., 2003), turnover

intentions and commitment (Tsui et al., 1992) and overall organizational

innovation (Baugh & Graen, 1997).

Following social identity theory, it is possible to explain the lack of

positive association between gender and ethnic diversity and performance

reported in the major investigation by Kochan et al. (2003). For example, it

has been argued that members of diverse groups (particularly minority

groups or outgroups) frequently provoke distrust and competition (from the

dominant groups or ingroups) and that such groups tend to show less affili-ation and commitment to each other, all of which may have negative conse-

quences for performance (see Harrison et al., 1998; Hogg et al., 1993).

Furthermore, it is suggested that such relationship difficulties are accentu-

ated where communication is frustrated by linguistic or paralinguistic differ-

ences between the ingroups and outgroups (Hambrick et al., 1998; Palich &

Gomez-Mejia, 1999). Thus, whatever the apparent differences may be

between the dominant group and the minority group (for example, race,

culture, gender, age, and religion), perceived or actual differences in language

and communication between the groups are likely to increase the likelihoodof tension and group dysfunction (Swann et al., 2004). Put differently, the

‘business case’ may provide the justification for not recruiting diverse groups

since such groups are by definition likely to encounter social difficulties

(including social and cultural differences as well as linguistic and paralin-

guistic problems) which may hamper organizational efficiency. Such poten-

tial outcome of pursuing the ‘business case’ has been highlighted and

criticized by many commentators (for example, Dickens, 1999).

A third strand in the literature on diversity and equality is the explo-ration and analysis of the issue of discrimination and disadvantage in employ-

ment. Given the focus of this article, the review here is specifically targeted at

studies that are linked to the experience of ethnic minorities. Interest in ethnic

minorities and the labour market has come from a wide range of disciplines

but principally focusing on sociology (see Iganski & Payne, 1999; Jenkins,

1986; Jewson & Mason, 1994, Modood et al., 1998) and economics (see

Blackaby et al., 2002; Darity & Mason, 1998; McNabb & Psacharopoulos,

1981). A consistent theme of research has been the continuing disadvantage

of ethnic minorities. For example, scholars have explored the nature of thisdisadvantage in relation to recruitment and selection. In a study involving

speculative job applications by two candidates, one white and the other black,

Noon (1999) concluded that the white candidate received more favourable





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replies from the same companies than the ethnic minority applicant. Other

researchers have examined the position of unemployed people from ethnic

minority communities and concluded that they are frequently discriminated

against by organizations which systematically refuse to offer them appropri-

ate training and opportunities for work experience placements (e.g. Ogbonna,

1998; Ogbonna & Noon, 1995). Furthermore, researchers have presented

evidence to argue that, when in work, people from ethnic minority communi-

ties often experience greater difficulties in achieving promotion (see Jones,

1993) and empirical research from both the UK (see Blackaby et al., 2002;

McNabb & Psacharopoulos, 1981) and the US (see Huffman & Cohen, 2004;

McCall, 2001) report differences in pay and other benefits between ethnic

minority workers and their white counterparts.Overall, previous studies of ethnic minorities in the labour market in

relation to equality of opportunities have consistently demonstrated that

these groups experience considerable disadvantage in all aspects of the

employment process. Recent contributions in this genre have, however,

pointed to some improvements in both the conduct of organizations and in

the success of some groups of ethnic minorities in achieving positive labour

market outcomes (Hoque & Noon, 1999; Iganski & Payne, 1999). Studies

of management of diversity have also made significant advances in arguing

for greater recognition of individual differences in equality research (Barsadeet al., 2000). Our concern in this article is not to evaluate the efficacy of the

diversity and equality approaches because we agree with researchers who

argue that the attempt to force a division between the two perspectives is

futile, counterproductive and frequently superficial (see Liff & Dickens,

1999; Noon & Ogbonna, 2001). Instead, we argue that existing conceptu-

alizations adopting both the diversity and equality approaches have a

number of limitations. First, some commentators have argued that existing

knowledge is weakened by the assumption of collective altruism (and aneglect of resistance and/or ambivalence) in both the objective and the

manner in which diversity/equality initiatives are implemented (see Arnold,

1997; Dick & Cassell, 2002; Prasad & Mills, 1997). In this regard, and as

is proposed in this study, the literature could be enriched by exploring and

analysing the ways in which employees (both whites and ethnic minorities

in this context) perceive themselves and others and the ways in which they

interact as part of their normal work and life in organizations.

A second limitation is that there is a dearth of equality and diversity

research from organizational and general management perspectives (seeNkomo, 1992; Williams & O’Reilly, 1998). Indeed, much existing research

on diversity and equality are sociological and economic analyses of discrimi-

nation (see earlier review). Although these studies have made substantial





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contributions to knowledge, they are frequently devoid of critical analysis of

the organizational context and the ways in which such contexts influence

emerging patterns of relationships. Third, there is a shortage of studies of

diversity and equality of opportunities with a focus on ethnic minorities (see

Blackaby et al., 2002; Williams & O’Reilly, 1998). Finally, a major limita-

tion of existing conceptualizations is that they are typically based on labour

market statistics and economic data. In this regard, few studies have provided

accounts of the lived experience of ethnic minority employees. The study

reported in this article is designed to contribute to the literature by explor-

ing and analysing the dynamics of relationships in an organization that is

characterized by a high degree of diverse ethnic groups.

Research design and methods

In order to achieve the aims of this study, it was considered necessary to

identify a study site with ethnically diverse groups of employees. We gained

access to a medium-sized organization (identified by the pseudonym

‘Harmony Bakeries’) located in a vibrant and highly diverse inner city in the

UK. The study was conducted between December 2002 and November 2003.

Data gathering

The current study employed ethnographic methods to gather data. This

approach was adopted to reflect our aim of observing and making sense of

the actions and experiences of organizational members from their own view-

points. This approach is also commonly recommended for the study of social

groups because it produces thick and rich descriptions (see Heracleous, 2001;

Miles & Huberman, 1994; Schein, 1991). Our approach included someparticipant observation, interviews and document analysis. We adopted a

case study approach to locate and interpret the events that unfolded during

the period of data gathering. Given the sensitivity of some of the issues

involved in the study, minor details have been altered to disguise identities

of the company, departments and individuals (including the use of pseudo-

nyms throughout).

Initially, one of the authors (Researcher A) conducted interviews with

management staff with a view to clarifying formal relationships and elicit-

ing espoused company position on a range of issues concerning workrelationships, equality and diversity. A total of 18 executives and managers

or just over 60 percent of the managerial strength of the company were inter-

viewed. This researcher also observed one management meeting where one





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of the issues on the agenda related to the central theme of the research.

Following the management interviews, Researchers A and C conducted a

total of 36 interviews with staff at various operative and clerical levels with

29 of the interviewees being factory operatives. All the interviews conducted

in this company were audiotape recorded. The interviews lasted between 60

and 90 minutes on average and were all transcribed verbatim in order to

capture the full essence of the views of the participants. The research team

also collected company documents and artefacts including corporate

promotion videos, company newsletters, training manuals, annual reports

and a variety of newspaper and magazine cuttings archived by the company.

Following this initial phase, we reflected on gathered data and were

able to identify a number of common patterns. Consequently, anothermember of the research team (Researcher B) worked in the company as a

line operative over a 12-week period. This arrangement was with the agree-

ment of the company, although it was decided that in the interest of research

probity, only the Managing Director and the Personnel Manager should be

aware of this. It was agreed that the identity of all departments, sections and

individuals would be disguised in any subsequent papers and reports. This

reduced ethical concerns regarding anonymity and potential respondent

victimization. While ethical concerns remained, it was felt that the potential

for negative or harmful consequences for respondents was very limited,consequently, covert data collection was deemed acceptable. Researcher B

(under the guise of a new employee) went through the process of job appli-

cation, interview and induction training. Consistent with the company policy

on all new recruits, the researcher was assigned shift patterns which changed

every fortnight and by the end of the 12-week period, the researcher had

worked in all four bakeries in the company and had assisted with routine

administrative work in Personnel, Marketing and Logistics departments. In

addition to the observation of work and recording of the incidents thatunfolded during this phase of the research, the researcher spoke to several

individuals during work, at break times and at informal social gatherings

outside work. Data generated from this source were recorded in the research

notebook as soon as possible following the discussion or observation.

Analysis of data

Following the recommendations of Strauss and Corbin (1998), we employedopen, axial and selective coding to facilitate the task of analysis. First, ‘open

coding’ was used to discover and identify the properties and dimensions of

concepts in data. This process involved the line-by-line analysis of transcripts





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and the labelling of phenomena (the label used being informed by the context

of the response coded). Thereafter, the labels used were reviewed to explore

the range of potential meanings, leading to a stage where categories and

subcategories were tentatively outlined. Initially, four factors contributing to

diversity, six bases for discrimination and four main ramifications were

outlined (although these were later revised during iterative analysis). Finally,

open coding culminated with a process during which the properties and

dimensions of each category was explored. Second, ‘axial coding’ was

employed to link the core categories together at the level of properties and

dimensions. This type of coding focused on exploring how each developed

category related to their subcategories (thus forming a more precise and

complete explanation of the strategies uncovered). Particular attention wasdevoted to exploring variations in bases for diversity, and the ramifications

of such diversity. Third, ‘selective coding’ was used as a process of integrat-

ing and refining theory. Using a combination of researcher memoranda and

diagrams, selective coding involved the review of analysis to gauge consist-

ency and logic while exploring outlaying cases, explaining variations, and

trimming extraneous concepts. To organize this process, a systematic

approach to the analysis of transcripts was adopted in a procedure akin to

that of Turner (1981). To improve the validity of these processes, the authors

conducted the analyses independently. Thereafter, results were corroboratedand reviewed. Although a high degree of agreement was found, four signifi-

cant disagreements were uncovered. These largely revolved on interpret-

ations of meanings of quotations from some of the interviewees. Three

discrepancies were resolved by discussion while the fourth was settled by

third-party mediation involving another colleague.

In presenting data, we are aware that our own subjectivity has influ-

enced our interpretations. Further, we should acknowledge potential

problems (and opportunities) that arise from introducing the research teaminto the research context. The research team includes members from differ-

ent races (one black and two white researchers) genders (one female and two

male researchers) and backgrounds, providing the researchers with flexibility

with regard to data collection. A white female researcher was tasked with

the participant observation phase of the study (principally because of past

experience but also since the other members of the research team had been

involved with interviewing and were potentially known to the shopfloor

workers). While consideration was given to the use of multiple researchers

from diverse backgrounds during this phase of data collection, the benefitsof consistency in data collection and reporting were deemed to outweigh the

potential advantages of multiple data gatherers. However, this approach

should also be treated as a potential source of bias (as indeed, it would if the





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researcher were from an ethnic minority). We are also mindful that a sample

of one organization precludes any claim of generalizability. In this regard,

although we concur with researchers who argue that single case studies can

lead to analytic generalization (see Stake, 2000; Tsoukas, 1989; Yin, 1994),

we emphasize that our intention was not to seek generalizability. Instead, we

sought to embrace all the richness and complexity of a real organizational

setting and to capture the experiences and perceptions of organizational

members in their own terms (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

Findings

Prior to the presentation of the findings, it is useful to provide brief back-

ground information on the case company. Harmony Bakeries is a specialist

manufacturer of cakes whose brands are well known in the British consumer

market. At the beginning of the study in December 2002, the company’s

turnover was £40m, two-thirds of which were from the top four food retail

groups in the UK (for whom Harmony is a dedicated own-brand supplier).

At the commencement of the study, the company employed 800 people of

which 500 were classified as full-time equivalents.3 This figure fluctuated

throughout the period of the research (particularly leading up to Christmasand Easter) and by the end of the study the organization employed 1000

people of whom 750 were full-time. The company operates on a tight margin

or that which Tim (the Managing Director) describes as running a ‘lean and

mean process at the top and a survival of the fittest operation at the bottom’.

The profit before tax for the 2002/3 financial year was £2m.

Consistent with the aims of our study, we begin our findings section

by elucidating the factors that are contributing to increasing levels of ethnic

diversity in the organization. Here, our data suggest that difficulties inrecruitment and the approach of management in dealing with business pres-

sures are important. Thereafter, we consider the ways in which ethnic diver-

sity is manifested in the organization by highlighting the issues of religion

and communication which emerged as important in this respect. Finally, we

discuss the implications of the increasing levels of ethnic diversity, focusing

on questions of conflict, discrimination and organizational issues.

Factors contributing to increasing levels of workforce diversityThe previous review of the literature identifies two views on the rationale for

workforce diversity and equality as; the business case (e.g. Ross & Schneider,

1992) and a moral imperative (e.g. Kaler, 2001). Our findings suggest that in





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the case of Harmony Bakeries, increasing levels of workforce diversity are

driven by a tight labour market as well as the responses of managers to

competitive pressures. These two issues are discussed below.

Recruitment difficulties

There have been several reports discussing the difficulty that certain sectors

of the British economy are experiencing in recruiting and retaining semi-

skilled and unskilled employees (see Labour Market Trends, 2003). This

problem has been more acute in the food manufacturing sector and has

affected the activities of Harmony Bakeries for many years. Previously, the

company minimized the impact of this by recruiting extensively from rela-tively poor areas (between 20 and 30 miles from the city and the factory),

where the traditional industries of steel and coal were in terminal decline and

unemployment was significantly above the national average. It also encour-

aged word-of-mouth recruiting and offered £50 to employees who intro-

duced a recruit that completed three months with the firm. Under this

informal recruiting system, Harmony Bakeries was mostly staffed by (typi-

cally white female) operatives from these surrounding communities. This

approach to staffing was relatively successful until the late 1990s when a

combination of UK government and European Union grants enticedcompanies to locate in these deprived areas, thus providing jobs locally and

making it unattractive for people to travel.

The decline in the number of recruits from the areas surrounding the

factory impacted on the activities of Harmony Bakeries significantly. Such

was the magnitude of the labour problem that senior managers identified this

(in the management meeting attended by Researcher A) as a serious problem

and one which had massive implications for business performance and profit-

ability. This was reiterated by many executives during the interviews. AsHuw, the Production Manager, observed:

We have just secured a new contract from [a leading confectionery

group] and we need to recruit 100 people in the next few weeks to help

with this . . . I just don’t know where these people are going to come

from.

The organization now relies extensively on the inner-city labour market. The

current recruitment strategy for operators can best be described as ad hoc oras Debbie (the Personnel Officer) ironically put it, one of ‘being desperate to

employ anyone that has two legs and two arms’. The company also intro-

duced regular ‘open days’ where potential recruits are encouraged to come





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and apply for positions. On the day that the Researcher B went to the

company to enquire about the process of applying for a job, the researcher

was given a form to fill, interviewed and told to start work the next day. It

also emerged that many of the potential recruits that visited on the same day

were from ethnic minority communities and were sent by the local job

centres. Researcher B was later told by several people that ethnic minorities

(particularly new immigrants without English language skills) were attracted

to the company because of the ease of employment. Given the recent growth

in the population of ethnic minorities in the city (the city is also one of the

centres that has absorbed asylum seekers in the UK), the number of new

recruits from these communities has grown significantly to the point where

the new immigrant community has become the main source of shopfloorworkers in Harmony Bakeries.

Management responses to competitive pressures

In the context of a growing market (the cake market is growing at 5% per

annum) and a difficult labour market, Harmony Bakeries invested £8 million

in 2002 to streamline its manufacturing operations. However, the cake

manufacturing sector remains heavily labour intensive and this has proved a

significant challenge to human resource managers with implications fordiversity and equality.

Although the wage levels have remained relatively stable (the average

new recruit earns £4.87 per hour and this rises to £5.75 for the night shift

staff), the company has failed to attract a wide pool of workers at operator

levels. Interestingly, many employees claimed (during the formal and

informal interviews) that the pay should be higher to reflect the boring and

monotonous nature of the work. Indeed, this was one of the first topics of

discussion during Researcher B’s time on the assembly line. One employee, James (who had been with the company for 18 months), told the researcher

that there was a high turnover of staff in the company and he attributed this

to the ‘low wages and mind-numbing jobs’. Researcher B was to experience

this directly. In one afternoon shift (5–10pm), the researcher spent the entire

shift putting cherries in the middle of cakes going through a conveyor belt

at a rate one every 10 seconds. After about two hours of doing this, the

researcher experienced a degree of physical strain and emotional detachment

from the job but somehow managed, in an almost automatic fashion, a

continuous action of picking cherries and putting them in the middle of cakes.

Faced with the choice of re-designing jobs (to introduce job satis-

faction) or increasing pay levels (to compensate for the boredom and

monotony), senior managers concluded that pursuing either strategy would





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be damaging to company profitability. Indeed, many executives interviewed

indicated that cake manufacturing was a fiercely competitive business and

one in which labour costs have to be kept to a minimum to ensure financial

success. The comments of Steve, the Marketing Manager exemplify this

point:

Over two-thirds of our business is with the top four food retailers and

they are continually squeezing us to try to improve the efficiency of the

supply chain. This means that prices tend to go down or remain the

same. As our industry is heavily labour intensive, the only scope we

have to keep them happy is to control our labour costs. If this means

that we pay low wages or that the conditions are such that only desper-ate people would work for us, then so be it.

The combination of the circumstances described above has contributed to a

radical change in the ethnic profile of staff at Harmony Bakeries. Information

from the company’s archives of personnel records suggest that in 1990, over

94 percent of shopfloor workers described themselves in the recruitment

questionnaire as white British, 3 percent classified themselves as British-born

ethnic minorities and just over 1 percent indicated that they were members

of different immigrant groups. By 2002, this pattern had changed completelywith just under 50 percent categorizing themselves as white British and over

40 percent indicating that they were from ethnic minority communities (with

only 5 percent of these being British-born). Unfortunately, the company did

not maintain detailed records of nationality of its employees. However, our

interviews indicated that employees were drawn from a wide range of nation-

alities including Britain, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Nigeria, Somalia, Macedonia,

Czech Republic, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Israel and Palestine.

Linked to the problem of recruitment is the difficulty in retaining staff once they are employed. The problem of retention at operator level is so

acute that the Personnel Department claimed that they no longer maintained

turnover records since this fluctuated so much from day-to-day. However,

information from the company’s personnel archives (2001 Year End Person-

nel Review) suggested that labour turnover was 70 percent for people that

were recruited between January and June 2001. The Managing Director

confirmed that in order to address this problem, the company had reduced

the qualifying period for confirmation of employment from 12 to 6 weeks.

However, this does not appear to have improved the rate of turnover as overhalf of the people that were appointed in the same week as Researcher B had

left the company by the end of this researcher’s 12-week period of work and

observation. Given the unattractive nature of the jobs on offer and faced with

a declining white population (along with a strategy of cost minimization),





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management chose to focus its recruitment efforts on ethnic minority

workers. This provides some support to the business case argument for

managing diversity (see Cox & Blake, 1991).

Experiencing diversity

The blend of nationalities has contributed to interesting dynamics of relation-

ships in the workplace. Our findings suggest that two of the most important

ways in which diversity was manifested were in issues pertaining to religion

and those regarding language and communication.

Issues of religion

The ethnic mix in the company has had some ramifications for religious

issues. Of particular significance is that most of the ethnic minority staff are

practising Muslims with strong religious beliefs and outwardly apparent

manifestations (e.g. headwear) and practices (e.g. prayer traditions). The

consequences can be profound where religion is fused with culture. For

instance, Researcher B noticed that some of the ethnic minority men were

always isolated from women. One especially vocal employee, Ali (a male),explained this segregation to the researcher as a relic of the culture and

religion of many of the minority groups. As he noted:

Our religion and culture are such that men are breadwinners and they

are not supposed to do dirty jobs . . . Most of the jobs here are demean-

ing and they [the men] do not like their women to see them doing these

jobs . . . You have to understand that this will reduce the respect the

women have for them outside of the workplace.

Ali’s comments are set in the context of the interconnected webs of family

relationships, friendships and ties that link many of the workers outside of

the work environment. In this regard, it appeared that the outcome of the

company’s policy of encouraging word-of-mouth recruiting was similar to

that which obtained in the factory in the 1980s and 1990s wherein friends

and relatives of existing employees became the major beneficiaries. A particu-

larly pertinent example is that 13 of the 29 Pakistani employees with whom

Researcher B worked on one night shift indicated that they had relativesworking for the firm.

During one induction training which Researcher B attended, Debbie,

the Personnel Officer, highlighted religious sensitivity as an important issue





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which should be observed by all the new recruits. The new recruits (11 new

people of which seven were from ethnic minorities, six of whom claimed to

be Muslims during conversations with Researcher B) were told that the

company took the issue of diversity and equality seriously and that an

example of this was the provision of a dedicated prayer room for Muslims.

Indeed, as the new recruits were taken round the factory Researcher B noticed

a sign on a door that said ‘Islamic Prayer Room’. During the lunch break on

the third day, the researcher walked back through this corridor and opened

the door to the prayer room. The Researcher turned on the light to reveal a

small space (around 2 meters by 2 meters) with dirty floor and old cardboard

boxes leaning on the wall. This room was above a suspended ceiling over the

factory and was very noisy from the work on the factory floor. It emerged inconversation with three long-serving staff members that there was a previous

problem in the company which involved Muslim workers demanding a prayer

room and the company responded by providing this space. In some respects,

this provides partial support for the argument of some researchers that the

increasing visibility of minority groups is providing them with some power

capacity (albeit limited) to demand improvement in the way they are treated

in organizations (see Konrad, 2003).

Language and communication

The interviews and work observation show that the variety of languages

spoken in this organization was an important factor which influenced the

nature of individual and group relationships. Of particular significance is the

role of language in the construction of discrimination and difference. It

appeared that, consistent with the work of social identity theorists (see Baugh

& Graen, 1997; Brunetto & Farr-Wharton, 2002; Tsui et al., 1992),

language became the focal issue through which individual employees definedtheir similarity to others. For example, shopfloor workers tended to develop

social affiliation and friendships that were based on language similarity, with

the two most prominent languages being Arabic and Urdu. Such was the

degree of comfort that people found in these social groupings that they

frequently asked to be put in the same shift with members of their friend-

ship group and often stayed together during breaks.

However, language also became an important element in the definition

of ingroups and outgroups (Hambrick et al., 1998; Palich & Gomez-Mejia,

1999), with outgroups especially targeted for resentment and criticism. Forexample, although it was clear from the interviews that many of the ethnic

minority workers could not communicate effectively in English,4 language

and communication problems became contested and were interpreted





17/30

differently by English-speaking organizational members. Some people

believed that language difficulty was a genuine barrier which placed a limit

on the communication ability of the immigrant employees. As Janet, a Super-

visor, argued:

I feel for these people. You’ve got to put yourself in their shoes and

imagine how difficult it would be to get on in a different country and

a language that you can barely understand . . . I do my best to help

them even though this always slows things down . . .

However, it appeared that the majority of the English-speaking employees

were not convinced that the language problem was genuine. Indeed, several

white interviewees blamed the ethnic minority workers for their inability to

speak the language. As Joe, a white Machine Operator argues:

They [immigrant ethnic minorities] talk more in their own language

than they do ours sometimes even when speaking to us. You know

some of them are very very funny about speaking English and most of

them can’t speak the language.

Others believed that language was often a smokescreen by ethnic minority

employees designed to minimize their workload. This was a regular topic of

conversation during breaks. James, a Machine Operator captured the feelings

of many white employees on this issue:

These people get away with murder just by pretending not to under-

stand the language. Many of them have been here for donkeys years

. . . It is just not acceptable that they don’t learn to speak English.

Ramifications

Our study also highlights three main ramifications of the increase in work-

force ethnic diversity and the associated religious and language concerns.

These issues are discussed under the headings of conflict, discrimination and

organizational issues.

ConflictOur analysis suggests that there are high levels of religious-motivated conflict

and racial conflict in Harmony Bakeries. Taking the issue of religious conflict

first, interviews with white and ethnic minority workers indicated that there





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was a recent history of religiously motivated clashes between groups. Anec-

dotal evidence reveals several arguments between Christian groups and

Muslims and more rarely (apparently on one occasion) between two Pales-

tinian workers and a Jewish man. However, of particular significance was

the fight that broke out between two Muslim sects (Shiites and Sunnis) in

March 2003. Although the company played down the significance of this

during the formal interviews, Researcher B who was present when the fight

took place during a night shift was later told that the fight broke out as two

groups of Iraqi refugees were arguing over the religious ramifications of the

invasion of Iraq in 2003. The police were called and the company later

confirmed that the men were dismissed.

There have also been several examples of conflict between differentethnic groups. Interestingly, such conflict occurred not just between white

employees and their ethnic minority counterparts but also between and

within different groups of ethnic minority workers. For example, Researcher

B witnessed several incidences of friction and conflict between Arabs and

black employees and between different groups of Somali workers. A particu-

larly noteworthy example is that Researcher B was told by informants that

due to a previous history of conflict between Indian and Pakistani employees,

managers tried to keep these groups of workers apart by allocating them to

different shifts. Jason, a Night Shift Manager, explained the nature of suchconflict:

The problems that we have seen have come from ethnic groups failing

to interact with each other and that has led to violence . . . Some of

the Indian and Pakistani groups are good examples of this . . . Some

people go as far as refusing to work together on the same line . . . There

is a lot of anonymous informing on each other by telephone, we’ve had

symbols put on lockers and we’ve had actual violence between peoplein and off site . . . We used to have isolated incidents of violence in

previous years but it has become more regular now . . .

However, the majority of conflict reported by respondents occurred between

white employees and their colleagues from different ethnic minority groups.

Interviews and observation of work suggest that there is little integration

between white employees and their ethnic minority counterparts. Such is the

problem of integration that in some cases there is limited communication or

contact between ethnic minorities and their white counterparts. Simon, aNight Shift Technician, suggested that some of the tensions result from what

the white employees perceive as the greater latitude given to ethnic minority

staff particularly when they break company rules. As he explained:





19/30

They come in here and they disregard many of the rules and they get

away with it. Last week, my friend was fired for smoking outside in

the yard. It was the first time he did it . . . The ethnic minority staff do

it all the time and when they are caught they simply say ‘no English’

and they leave them with a warning . . . It’s like there is one rule for

them and another one for us.

On their part, ethnic minority employees interpreted the conflict with their

white counterparts differently. Many pointed to what they perceived to be a

lack of respect shown to them by their white colleagues, with some suggest-

ing that the white employees disliked them because they believed that they

(ethnic minority workers) threatened their job security. One Indianemployee, Rakesh, notes:

I had an argument with John the other day [a white employee] and he

told me to go back home. He said that if we did not come here to work

they would be able to get more money from the managers.

Such feelings of distrust and perceptions of competition have been identified

as key factors that contribute to the inefficiency of socially diverse groups

(see Harrison et al., 1998; Hogg et al., 1993). In the current case, it alsoemerged that work-related incidents frequently evolved into major disputes

which sometimes resulted in fights outside the workplace. Mustapha, an

ethnic minority employee, claimed that an altercation with his white coun-

terpart resulted in a major fight outside the factory which led to him being

taken to hospital.

Discrimination

The interviews and observation of work suggest that many members of the

ethnic minority communities believe that they are discriminated against in

the organization. Direct evidence of such discrimination was difficult to

uncover during the research although there were examples of attitudes and

behaviours which could be deemed to be discriminatory. Of particular signifi-

cance was the existence of what may be characterized as discrimination based

on language skills. In this regard, it appeared that there was an unwritten

but widely practised policy of not recruiting or promoting members of ethnic

minority communities (particularly the new immigrants) into certain‘premium’ posts because it was assumed that their perceived lack of English

language skills would make it difficult for them to cope. Steve, the Market-

ing Manager, captured the view of many managers on this issue:





20/30

We don’t think that they can pursue real career jobs in this company.

They simply don’t have the capability to cope with the language

demand. It is fine at the lower levels where we can try and minimize

the level of communication and interaction they need to do the job . . .

Administrative and supervisory jobs are entirely different propositions.

Amanda, the Personnel Manager, recounted a story of a particularly hard-

working ethnic minority employee who was offered a supervisory role but

who later resigned because he could not cope with the pressures of the job.

Similarly, the comments of Neil, the Engineering Manager, and an out-

spoken critique of the company’s strategy of employing immigrant ethnic

minorities suggested the possibility of discrimination not just based onlanguage skill but also in relation to general employment and promotion

decisions. As he argued:

You have to understand that these coloured people are not like us.

There are certain jobs that they can’t do and I feel that engineering is

one of those jobs . . . They are not trained to think laterally and they

often have difficulty in problem-solving situations.

Interestingly, there were no members of the ethnic minority communityworking in the engineering section in the company.

Ironically, these examples are self-fulfilling. To this extent, they have

come to represent the ‘construction of disadvantage without self guilt’, in

that the organization and its managers appear to have abrogated responsi-

bility to promote fair employment policies. Indeed, by pointing to lack of

language skills and inability or unwillingness to adjust to what white

managers interpret as ‘British’ culture, the managers in this organization

appear to be blaming the ethnic minorities for their own misfortunes ratherthan the apparent unfairness in the company’s recruitment and promotion

practices. This point is captured by the comments of Halima, a Pakistani-

born employee:

These people don’t like us. They make it obvious all the time. They

only give us jobs that no one wants. If they really want to ensure

fairness here they should look at the attitudes of those at the top. They

mostly turn a blind eye when we are discriminated against.

Another example which ethnic minorities perceived as indicative of discrim-

inatory attitude was the use of derogatory terms such as ‘coloured’ to refer

to them. This term was recorded in nine different interviews and was also





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the term that was used in general conversations which Researcher B

witnessed in the staff rooms. Several interviewees from ethnic minority

community groups commented on the negative impact of being referred to

in such disparaging ways. As Ikenna, a Nigerian employee observed:

I can’t believe that people in authority will refer to employees as

‘coloured’ in this day and age. It is like going back to the civil rights

movement in America in the 60s or the apartheid regimes of South

Africa in the 70s and 80s.

Femi, a British-born ethnic minority employee, was particularly affected by

the use of this term. He indicated that he expressed disapproval towards theuse of this term and even launched an unsuccessful formal grievance against

a supervisor who referred to him as ‘coloured’. Femi left the firm towards

the end of the study.

Interestingly, many white employees also believed that some aspects of

the ways in which they were treated by the company amounted to discrimi-

nation and unfair treatment. In this sense, they argued that the language

deficiency of many ethnic minority employees routinely resulted in extra

workload for them. As Jon, a Production Operative, noted:

We are paid the same money as these people yet there are certain

difficult jobs that they don’t do. When you’re on decorating and there

are four of you with two whites and two blacks, you know that the

whites will be expected to work harder and will be held responsible

when things go wrong. The blacks just get away with the easy jobs

with no responsibility.

Organizational issues

Although several aspects of the relationships in a company such as Harmony

have organization-wide ramifications, it is the issues of health and safety and

hygiene that emerged as significant. A particular source of concern was the

number of potential breaches of Health and Safety regulations that were

uncovered during the study. This problem was rationalized in different ways

by different groups of employees. For example, white employees generally

linked this to language difficulties of many ethnic minority workers which

made it difficult for them to understand written instructions. As Huw, theProduction Manager, noted:

The limited amount of English that people speak here does give us a

problem, especially when it comes to health and safety. Their writing





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abilities can be a problem as well. They are supposed to check the code

before they pack it and some can’t read . . . You’ve got to recognize

those people and put them in areas where it won’t be detrimental to

the company . . .

However, an alternative interpretation is that the management of this firm

is failing in its legal obligation to health and safety in the workplace. For

example, although it was clear that many of the new recruits did not under-

stand the Health and Safety regulations, they were allowed to operate

machinery which could put them and other employees at risk. Whilst the

research team were unable to obtain access to records detailing staff acci-

dents, there were several uncorroborated accounts of injuries which wereclaimed to have resulted from not adhering to Health and Safety regu-

lations. This issue was a continuing source of conflict between management

and employee representatives. Towards the end of Researcher B’s observa-

tion and work, managers introduced posters in Urdu and Arabic through-

out the shopfloor to help in communicating the central messages of health

and safety.

A related problem is linked to the issue of hygiene. In this regard, our

findings suggest that there were a number of misconceptions regarding the

personal hygiene of ethnic minority groups. Indeed, Researcher B noticedthat there were some parts of the lavatory that had been unofficially desig-

nated as a ‘Muslim’ area by the white employees because of the perception

that certain cultural and religious practices of this group were inconsistent

with good personal hygiene. Linda, a Dry Mixer noted:

The Muslims have their own part as they’ve got their own beliefs and

that’s why we won’t go there.

The issue of hygiene was also raised by several other interviewees par-

ticularly in relation to adhering to rules and regulations regarding the

cleaning and general maintenance of machines. Whilst there were no direct

evidence of breaches of hygiene regulations, David, a Hygiene Supervisor,

argued that the limited language skills of many ethnic minority employees

often resulted in cleaning instructions not being followed. He noted that this

increases the pressures on supervisors and other employees who are required

to work harder to ensure that machines and other materials are cleaned

properly. This issue was a continuing source of frustration that was articu-lated by the more vocal members of the ethnic minority workers. Many

believed that the discourse around the issue of hygiene concealed a more

sinister attempt by the white employees to discredit and dehumanize them.

As Femi argued:





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Any practice they [the white employees] don’t understand is viewed as

barbaric and when they add them all up they become convinced that

we are subhuman . . . Do they honestly think that our personal hygiene

is any different to theirs?

Conclusions

The aim of this study was to explore and analyse the dynamics of relation-

ships in an ethnically diverse workforce. The study revealed interesting

insights into the factors that contributed to high levels of workplace ethnic

diversity, the ways in which such diversity was manifested and the rami-fications for the firm and the individuals and groups concerned. The

remainder of this article is dedicated to discussing the implications of the

findings.

The first implication of the study arises from the finding that a major

factor that contributed to discrimination was linguistic ability. This finding

is concordant with recent research which argues that direct forms of discrimi-

nation are becoming increasingly less prevalent while indirect, subtler forms

of discrimination are becoming more common (see Deitch et al., 2003). Inter-

estingly, although many of the interviewees indicated that they did notdiscriminate on the conventional bases (e.g. skin colour, gender, disability

and age), informants freely admitted to discriminating against those that they

perceive to have difficulties communicating in English (even when communi-

cation was not a pivotal part of the role). For example, supervisors accepted

that it was common practice not to promote those whose written skills were

known to be poor even when such promotions did not include any new

writing requirements. Similarly, evidence was found of endemic discrimi-

nation on the basis of oral communication skills. In this sense, individualsfrom ethnic minority communities appeared to be especially susceptible to

not only ‘horizontal’ discrimination (from their work colleagues) but also

openly admitted ‘vertical’ discrimination (from hierarchical superordinates).

These findings suggest a need to reconsider and re-evaluate theories and

prescriptions in order fully to incorporate the invidious effect of the common,

but previously understudied, effects of language-based discrimination. While

earlier studies of discrimination have understandably focused on the most

tangible typologies of discrimination, for example race (see Deitch et al.,

2003), gender (see Darity & Mason, 1998) and disability (see Bruyere & James, 1997) the findings of this study suggest a need to focus on subtler and

less direct forms of discrimination. In this regard, this study contributes to

the literature through the finding of discrimination on the basis of perceived





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language skills and abilities. In this sense, our study highlights the need to

adapt and evolve conceptions of discrimination as society evolves.

Linked to the above is a contribution that centres on the bases of

discrimination revealed in the case company. Whilst recognizing that the

employees of Harmony Bakeries are particularly diverse (for reasons

discussed previously), the wide range of different bases of discrimination

uncovered constitutes a revealing empirical contribution. Interestingly, 30 of

the 36 frontline operatives interviewed believed that they were discriminated

against. While recognizing that strong evidence was forwarded by inform-

ants regarding some of the more widely discussed bases of discrimination

such as colour, race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexual orientation, support

was also found regarding other diverse bases of discrimination includinglinguistic ability (discussed above), location of home (city versus country),

age (both young and old), accent (in all languages), country of birth, school-

ing, weight and number of languages spoken. While supporting evidence is

found that concords with some theorists’ calls for additional empirical

research into a wider range of bases of diversity (see Barsade et al., 2000),

such explorations should be conducted tentatively and should acknowledge

and address the concerns of Konard (2003) that such ‘widening’ could

detract from the central issue of discrimination. In this regard, such studies

could explore the impact of incorporating wider bases of diversity for indi-vidual and group discrimination.

Another contribution of the study relates to extant conceptualizations

and theories of ‘ethnic minorities’. Although some researchers have acknowl-

edged the difficulty of applying abstract categorizations to a multi-faceted

construct such as ethnicity (see Fenton, 2003; Modood et al., 1998), studies

continue to treat ‘ethnic minorities’ as a heterogeneous group. In the current

study, numerically, workers from ethnic ‘minorities’ form the majority of the

shopfloor workforce. Whilst it must be acknowledged that ethnic minoritieswere significantly under-represented at managerial levels, and that while in

the majority on the shopfloor, the range of ethnic groups was remarkably

diverse and heterogeneous, the term ‘ethnic minority’ appeared inappropri-

ate for this context. Indeed, in the current study, strong evidence emerged to

support the view that the term ‘ethnic minority’ in the study of discrimination

may be misleading (in that the ‘minority’ group were white, British males)

and vague (in that, given the wide range of ethnic groups, the basis of simi-

larity was tenuous). Thus, our study contributes to the literature by positing

the view that the term ‘ethnic minority’ can be inappropriate unless appro-priately qualified (such as, for example, British-born ethnic minorities, immi-

grant ethnic minorities and non-English-speaking ethnic minorities). Such

qualification should improve the clarity of definitions and communication





25/30

and ensure that the most vulnerable minorities are considered and that the

problems of the indigenous minorities are not overlooked or ignored. In

particular, we argue that the term immigrant ethnic minorities should be

incorporated into the lexicon of research on ethnicity and discrimination at

work.

The findings of this study also suggest a need to re-evaluate conceptu-

alizations of discrimination in the workplace. Whereas previous studies have

tended to conceptualize discrimination largely in relation to whites and

ethnic minority groups (see, for example, Hoque & Noon, 1999; Jenkins,

1986; Ogbonna, 1998), our study shows that discrimination is best presented

as multi-faceted, in that it occurs between and within different groups, with

each facet having different (but sometimes cumulative) ramifications for theindividuals and groups concerned. For example, the discriminatory practices

of white managers in the case company may have social and economic impli-

cations for the victims, while the consequences of acts of discrimination

between Indian and Pakistani employees or between Muslim men and

women in the same organization are more likely to be social in nature. This

suggests a need to integrate the complex nature of inter-relationships that

characterize contemporary organizations in conceptualizing the nature and

consequences of discrimination.

This study also contributes insights into the debates on whether theissue of equality of opportunity should be viewed as a moral imperative (see

Kaler, 2001) or whether the business rationale should be assumed to be para-

mount (sees Ross & Schneider, 1992). In the first instance, support is found

for the business argument, in that, for the case company, the employment of

workers from diverse backgrounds and cultures as well as a high proportion

of female workers has assisted the organization to sustain its competitive

position and generate both growth and profits. In this regard, the business

case is supported in the short term. However, in the longer term, the veracityof the business case for diversity and equality of opportunities is more ques-

tionable. Indeed, creating a legislative policy vacuum in dealing with various

problems of ethnic minority communities (for example, in the area of

language discrimination) means that the fate of ethnic minority employees is

placed squarely in the hands of individual employers. Although, proponents

of the business case will argue that this organization could have done more

to minimize the language problems reported (for example, the translation of

documents, providing language lessons and using interpreters), it is clear that

many organizations, particularly those whose primary motive for hiring anethnically diverse workforce is cost minimization, may be reluctant to engage

in such investments.

The above point highlights the importance of commercial exigencies in





26/30

discussions of discrimination at work. While this organization was seemingly

complying with the laws on recruitment (by recruiting from all sections of

the community), it was nevertheless flouting (albeit indirectly) many aspects

of the legislation by not providing a safe working environment for all its

employees. This suggests that the interpretation of work-based legislations

may be subject to commercial concerns. Thus, in some ways, it could be

argued that the duties of care and equal opportunities are not always

mutually compatible (in that, through not discriminating, health and safety

could be compromised). However, this argument is premised on the assump-

tion that the difficulties of recruiting from an ethnically diverse population

are insurmountable while the fallacy of this suggestion is illuminated by the

excellent efforts of many UK Local Authorities to facilitate multiculturalworking environments (e.g. use of interpreters, hands-on health and safety

training and the use of migrant ‘team-leaders’ as communicators). Hence, a

more logical conclusion is that if organizations expect to reap the rewards

of a culturally heterogeneous workforce (see Robinson & Dechant, 1997),

then there is a need to invest time and effort in policies, training and

procedures that support such an environment.

Future extensions to this study could overcome some of the limitations

of the current study. In particular, four avenues of further research appear

especially worthy of consideration. First, the focus of the current study wason exploring employee relationships and dynamics in an ethnically diverse

context. In this regard, while recently immigrated workers were interviewed,

the focus of the current study was broader. Future research could concen-

trate on such workers and specifically follow an approach designed to

research this understudied category of workers. Indeed, given recent EU

expansion, public concerns, demographic changes and a wide range of other

factors, it seems likely that this issue will become increasingly important and

contentious. Second, given the prominence of discrimination on the basis of language, accent and linguistic ability, future studies could concentrate on

exploring and describing such discrimination in alternative organizational

contexts. In particular, service contexts that involve considerable human

interaction via language without visual cues regarding colour and race (such

as call centre operations) deserve attention. Third, the literature on diversity

and equality would be enriched by a more focused analysis of the issues

raised in this study using specific theoretical frameworks (for example, an

organizational culture perspective). Finally, the issues raised in the current

study require further research in a broader range of contexts. In contrast tothe case company that had a highly diverse workforce, further extensions to

the current study could explore these issues in organizations currently less

diverse as well as in different types of firms, sectors and countries.





27/30

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the helpful comments of the reviewers and the editor and we

would like to thank Claire Palmer for her assistance during this research.

Notes

1 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Emmanuel Ogbonna.

2 Given the argument that conceptions of ethnicity are socially and culturallyconstructed and contested (see Fenton, 2003; Modood et al., 1998), the context in

which this article is set and the focus of much of the discussion is the UK. However,we recognize that there are significant insights to be gained from other contexts,

most notably the US where it can be argued that some aspects of diversity research

are more advanced (see Williams & O’Reilly, 1998), and we have included many of these insights to advance our arguments.

3 The study was conducted between December 2002 and November 2003. Thus, datawere collected prior to the implementation of the Employment Equality (Religion

or Belief) Regulations 2003 that came into force on 2 December 2003.

4 The participant observation work by Researcher B revealed the significance of language difficulty. At the induction training involving Researcher B, the new

recruits were given a form to complete (name, address, date of birth, position applied

for, date and signature). Five of the recruits that were sitting nearest to ResearcherB looked confused and put the forms in their bags. These five recruits also appeared

to be reading the wrong pages on the induction booklet as Debbie (the Personnel

Officer) took the recruits through the document. At the end of the induction thePersonnel Officer asked everyone to sign and submit their induction forms. It became

clear that many of the recruits neither understood nor completed the forms and thisprompted Debbie to say: ‘If you’ve got a problem writing things down, just let me

know and you don’t have to write anything . . . We know that for some people, penand paper don’t go together and that’s not a problem here at Harmony Bakeries’.

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Human Relations 59(3)

the dynamics of employee relationships in an ethnically diverse workforce

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